Chapter 750: Jiaojiao 30

Chen Jiao smiled, finding the scene quite amusing. After a few minutes of idle chat at the entrance, the factory owner arrived. The clothing factory had actually been shut down for several months, and the owner was eager to sell it off and recoup his funds.

Now that Tan You had come knocking, the owner couldn’t have been happier. The handover went very smoothly, and in less than an hour, the factory was under the Chen name.

Chen Jiao hadn’t wanted it registered under her name, but putting it under anyone else’s name felt inappropriate. Regardless of who the money belonged to before, it was well and truly hers now.

She figured that once the factory started turning a profit, she could simply not use the money it generated herself.

Tan You never went into a battle unprepared. After the contract with the previous owner was signed, Chen Jiao took out a list. “These are former employees of the factory. They’re all skilled, reliable, and hardworking.”

“They haven’t found new jobs yet, so find some time to bring them back.” Chen Jiao began to relay Tan You’s instructions word for word. “You’re men, after all, so it wouldn’t be appropriate for you to get too close to the female workers.”

“Big Guy, your sister Ah Mei is smart and capable. If she’s willing, have her come to the factory and learn the basics. Of course, I don’t just want her to be an assembly-line worker.”

“She needs to be able to handle conflicts in the workshop.”

Big Guy listened quietly to Chen Jiao’s words, his grin growing wider and wider. Little Liu, unable to watch any longer, gave him a tug, but Big Guy still couldn’t hold back his smile.

Chen Jiao found this amusing. “For now, just hire these thirty people. If there are too many, you won’t be able to manage them right away. Also, there’s a lot of fabric in stock at the factory. Prioritize using it for the next production run.”

“As for sales, you just focus on production. I’ll take care of the sales side.”

As she spoke, Chen Jiao opened her sketchbook. Inside were the clothing design sketches she had painstakingly copied last night, complete with detailed measurements. Even if the men didn’t understand the specifics, they could tell how beautiful the clothes were.

Li Shun cradled the sketchbook like a treasure. “Miss Chen, we will do as you’ve instructed.”

Chen Jiao said with a laugh, “I won’t be managing things from here on out, so if anything comes up, discuss it among yourselves. Just one thing: no forming cliques in the factory. Everyone is here to make a living. Think about others, think about yourselves, and try to be considerate.”

Li Shun and Little Liu nodded. “Understood.”

“I don’t have anything else to say. I’ll let Brother Qi talk to you.” Chen Jiao felt she had clearly relayed all of Tan You’s instructions. She wouldn’t involve herself in what came next. After all, almost everyone here was smarter than her.

Except for Big Guy.

Zong Qi’s lips curved into a smile. Seeing that Chen Jiao was truly stepping back, he held a meeting with the eight men. They didn’t part ways at the factory until dusk.

Just before they got in the car, Zong Qi asked, “So you’re really not coming back here anymore?”

“Mmm,” Chen Jiao said languidly. “I prefer acting. I really don’t want to get too involved in this.”

She had forced herself not to show any weakness in front of Li Shun and the others today. While they were in the meeting, Chen Jiao had maintained a cool, detached expression, just as Tan You had told her. ‘Even if you’re faking it, you have to look like a capable elite who can’t be fooled.’

Because people have a darker side; if the boss is incompetent and clueless, the subordinates will easily get ideas of their own. Her original intention was indeed to give Li Shun and the others a hand, not to have them squander all this money.

If that were to happen, she might as well have just donated it.

Zong Qi understood. “Alright, I’ll keep a closer eye on things then. They seem okay for now, but we can’t just give them full authority. It’s too easy for people to get greedy.”

Chen Jiao knew Zong Qi would understand. She smiled. “Mmm, I trust you to handle it. Let’s see… in another two weeks, filming for this movie will wrap up. I wonder when I’ll join the cast for the next one.”

Zong Qi was curious. “Your agent isn’t booking new roles for you?”

Chen Jiao covered her mouth and yawned. “They are, but our agency is a small one. It’s relatively clean, which means we get very few opportunities.”

Zong Qi didn’t ask about the script Chen Jiao was studying, but she brought it up herself. “I’m not good enough to carry that role yet. Besides, filmmaking costs money. I need to save up. Maybe in a year or so.”

Zong Qi: “So for the next year, you’re just going to go around looking for film crews?”

“Uh-huh,” Chen Jiao yawned again. “I’ll take it slow. I’m sure I’ll figure something out.”

‘If it really comes to it… if it really comes to it, I’ll just stick to Tan You. I’m working for her anyway. If I really can’t find any acting roles, I’ll just stay home and hone my skills. Then, once Tan You has saved up enough money, I’ll quietly blow everyone away.’

Sensing Chen Jiao’s somewhat proud and petulant thoughts, Tan You couldn’t help but smile. ‘To be honest, rather than having Chen Jiao take roles in third-rate productions, filming the same highly repetitive scenes day after day, it would be better to let her stay home and cultivate her skills.’

‘If she really can’t find any roles, maybe I should have her release an album? I remember her agency has a recording studio, sound engineers, arrangers, and all that.’

“Singing?” Back at the hotel, Chen Jiao was taken aback by Tan You’s suggestion, then immediately broke into a smile. “Okay! As long as I can get noticed, I don’t care if I’m an actress or a singer. I’d love to do either.”

“I’m a pretty decent singer.” As she said this, she sang a few lines from a currently popular song. Her vocal tone was excellent, but because she lacked life experience, her performance lacked emotional impact.

Tan You stared at Chen Jiao for a long moment. “The raw materials are fine, but your technique… leaves much to be desired.”

Chen Jiao pouted, now bold enough to get cheeky with Tan You. “Teacher… if you’re so good, you do it! Teacher, you’re not good at acting, so I refuse to believe you can sing that well either.”

Tan You chuckled dryly. “Whether I can act or not is irrelevant. As long as I can write scripts and direct, that’s enough. As for singing, you call that singing? Anyone who can read sheet music could sing it better than you.”

“If you want to release a song, go get more practice.”

Chen Jiao flopped onto the armchair across from Tan You. “Then… then why don’t you give me a demonstration? Let me see the gap between us for myself.”

She was now obsessed with discovering Tan You’s various talents. Beyond scriptwriting and directing, Chen Jiao wanted to know just how omnipotent Tan You really was.

Tan You naturally understood Chen Jiao’s intentions. She cleared her throat and began to sing softly. Soon, a slightly husky, textured voice flowed into Chen Jiao’s ears.

Chen Jiao found herself listening, entranced. Long after Tan You had finished, she finally sighed. “Compared to you, Teacher, I really can’t sing at all.”

Tan You: “So, do you want to sing or not?”

“Of course I do!” Chen Jiao scrambled up. “I’ll definitely study hard. To be honest, after reading your script, Teacher, I can’t bring myself to even consider auditioning for any other roles.”